Tiger Stripes
by Query
Summary: Acceptance can come from the least expected of places. Part 4 of the Jade Tiger Triad series.
1. Training

These stories are set in Gotham City. The character Dee Lemma/Xiaohu/Query, as well as the entire Jade Tiger Triad is the sole creation of me. Unauthorized use of my characters is not allowed. All other characters (Batman, The Riddler, and all other DC created Gothamites) are property of DC Comics.   
  
The Jade Tiger Triad series is Dee Lemma's origin series.   
  


~ ~ ~

  
  
"Get up," Jiaoshu said in that never-ending patient voice of his.  
  
Sighing heavily Dee stood back up with some difficulty. It was now just over a month since she had moved in to Jiaoshu's house. Everyday went the same for her. Wake up at sunrise and help get things going in the kitchen. Practice the skill Jiaoshu had taught her the day before for an hour. Serve Jiaoshu and any company there was breakfast, then eat her own breakfast. Then came the stacks of dishes, pots and pans to be washed, dried, and put away. That was just the beginning of her day. While she appreciated the schooling she was getting, the training was taking its toll on her body. Never before had she worked so hard, physically, and her muscles screamed now as she stood.  
  
"Once more," he said once she was standing.  
  
Bowing to him, Dee took her opening stance, moving through a warm up to center her mind before aiming a kick at Jiaoshu's gloved hands.  
  
"Much better. Tomorrow you practice that fifty times before breakfast."  
  
"Yes, Jiaoshu," she said bowing again.  
  
He removed his padded gloves and set them aside, patting her head after returning the bow. "You must get to your studies today. Please try to spend an hour before dinner on the bamboo poles. To succeed with your training, you must have absolute control of your balance."  
  
"Yes, Sir." Dee was an outsider here just as much as she had been in the orphanage and she knew it. Since she had arrived with her little bundle of items she had been treated with respect, yet she still felt a distance between her and the others of the household. Of course she did not expect them to immediately like her. Instead she did all that she was asked as best as she could, hoping that she would be, eventually, allowed into this secret world in Chinatown.  
  
When Jiaoshu left Dee went through her cool down exercise before heading back to the kitchen to help prepare lunch. Once most of the items had been made, the cooks excused her so she could do some of her schoolwork. After pushing herself through math and history, lunch was ready and she served Jiaoshu as she did in the mornings. With regular meals, which were actually edible, unlike the ones served in the orphanage, Dee was filling out from her almost waif-like thinness she had acquired in the few months on the streets.  
  
On her way back up to her room, she ran into one of the other students. The boy was her age, perhaps just a few months older. He had dark black hair, pulled neatly back into a queue the same way Jiaoshu wore his hair. The boy's eyes were a deep amber color flecked with brown, distinctly almond shaped and tilted at an appealing angle. He had moved into the bedroom down the hall from her only a week before she arrived.  
  
"Manchu, isn't it?" she asked.  
  
He nodded shyly.  
  
"I'm Dee. Were you going to study right now?"  
  
"No. Jiaoshu says I must practice my balance."  
  
Dee smiled at him. "He said I needed to practice as well. Wanna practice it together? We can set the poles back up for each other when we knock them over."  
  
A faint smile appeared on Manchu's face. "I would like that."  
  
"Give me a minute to change into my uniform," she said jogging to her room before he could say a word.  
  
Dee changed quickly and was soon out in the sunny courtyard with Manchu. The two set the bamboo poles up on end, spotting each other the first few times through the course. Unbeknownst to the two children Jiaoshu watched from a screened patio, smiling at the pair. He had been right in catching the girl when he found out that Manchu was being sent over from China. The boy had been orphaned when a rival triad had bombed his home. Lucky for him, he had been at school at the time and the Jade Tiger contacts in China had sent him immediately to Jiaoshu.  
  
The two practiced together up until Dee was called to come help with dinner preparations. Manchu was sent to clean the practice rooms and check the equipment. After dinner had been served to Jiaoshu and some visiting guests, Dee found Manchu waiting for her in the kitchen to dine with her. He bowed graciously as she handed him a bowl of rice with stir-fried vegetables and tofu on it. For a moment the two ate in silence.  
  
"Manchu, would you help me with my Chinese? I'm having a hard time with some of the pronunciations. I'll help you with your English," offered Dee.  
  
"That would be good. I studied some English when I was in China, but it is not an easy language to learn!" he said.  
  
She laughed. "Chinese isn't an easy language to learn either!"   



	2. The Elders

  
  
Li Mei slid the door to the dining room closed softly. She smiled as she turned to Jiaoshu and the others.  
  
{The children are becoming friends, just as we hoped. Right now they are eating dinner together and speaking of plans to help each other with their studies.}  
  
The three men sitting around the table with Jiaoshu nodded. All were of different ages, none exactly young. They were the three Elders for the Jade Tigers of Gotham City.  
  
The oldest was a man named Kueng, a thin man with a long beard of white and a long white braid of hair at the back of his head; the rest of his head was shaved bald. His eyes glinted black from under his white bushy eyebrows, the spark of life still burning bright despite his stooped and aged look.  
  
Po Sin was the next of the Elders. He was a sour looking, heavy man with black hair that was just beginning to grey. While the others had pleasant looking faces, Po Sin always seemed to be sucking on a lemon. The near permanent frown on his face did not make him an easy man to approach.  
  
Finally there was Shing, the youngest of the assembled group. He had stepped into his place as the third Elder a few years back and was still trying to find his place between the other two. Shing was a thin man, like Kueng, though his hair was as black as midnight and he had strangely out of place amber eyes. Unlike the other two, Shing's hair was cut like that of an American businessman and he wore American clothing, whereas the others wore traditional Chinese robes.  
  
{So tell us of your plans for this girl. Manchu is one thing, but this girl, Jiaoshu?} Kueng said in a soft, unhurried voice.  
  
Jiaoshu took a sip of his tea and placed his cup back onto the table. Inclining his head to the Elders, he folded his hands in his lap as he spoke. {I chose Dee because I have been watching her in the months since she arrived in Chinatown. The girl moves like a cat and adapts to any situation very easily. With time and the proper training I think she would make a fine addition to the triad.}  
  
{But Jiaoshu, the girl is _white_,} Po Sin said.  
  
{She is white?} Kueng asked in a sedate tone.  
  
Po Sin glared into his teacup.  
  
{How many times must I tell you to look beyond the outside, Po Sin? While I do not know if she will work, I will keep an open mind on the subject. Keep training her as you are doing, Jiaoshu. We will check on her progress every few months as with any student. I know you will not treat her any different from the others.} Clearing his throat, Kueng stood and bowed to Jiaoshu and Li Mei. {I thank you for your hospitality this evening, but I must be going. Po Sin, Shing?}  
  


~ ~ ~

{I do not think Po Sin likes you,} Li Mei said softly after the others had left. She cleared the tea items, while Jiaoshu sat in thought, hands folded into the wide sleeves of his robe.  
  
{Po Sin likes no one. Let us not speak of this anymore for tonight.} Jiaoshu stood and took Li Mei's face in his hands placing a gentle kiss on her forehead. He sighed as he looked into the woman's face. Letting his hands fall to his side he shook his head and turned away. {Some days you remind me so much of my Lin Wei. How I miss her.}  
  
The whisper of the door opening and closing caused him to sigh again. When he turned around Li Mei had gone. He knew he loved her and had loved her for years. Still he refused to allow his affections to go further than a kiss now and then. The pain of losing his family to a rival triad, the Scarlet Monkey Triad, had been almost too much for him to bear. The same triad had killed Manchu's family only two short months ago.  
  
He suppressed a sob at the memories that washed over him as he stared at the wall of the dining room. There had been no hope at saving his wife and children from the explosion that had rocked his home. A couple of his students had managed to pull the bodies out of the home before it collapsed in on itself. He could still hear the last sounds that came from his wife's throat as he held her in his arms, her body almost unrecognizable from the torture she had endured. The children had thankfully died before the explosion; they too had been tortured mercilessly. With the help of the triad he cremated his family and scattered their ashes to the winds.  
  
When the Jade Tigers had offered to move him to America to replace the ailing training teacher, he accepted the post. In the decade that he had lived in Gotham he often cursed himself for leaving his beloved China and all that he had known. At the same time he was relieved to be away from the constant memories of his family that haunted him. Here in Gotham he had been placed in a position of honor; that of the teacher to the foot soldiers of the Jade Tiger Triad. Of course he was not the only teacher, but he was the most accomplished of all. More than half of his students were now successful triad members or were being watched for high triad positions.  
  
A soft knock came at the dining room door. Jiaoshu took a deep breath and straightened his back.  
  
{Come,} he said.  
  
The little redhead that poked through the door made him instantly forget his sadness. She looked worried as she came in carrying a tray with a fresh pot of tea and a small tincture he always took before bed. Placing the tray on the table, Dee took a step back and bowed to him before reaching to turn his teacup over and fill it.  
  
"Leave it, little one. I will do for myself tonight, thank you."  
  
"Yes, Jiaoshu," she said, turning to leave.  
  
"You have worry in your eyes, Dee. Tell me what is wrong?" he said taking a seat on the cushions.  
  
"Li Mei looked like she had been crying when she came into the kitchen to tell me to bring you your tea."  
  
Jiaoshu paused in the pouring of his tea and set the pot back down. Blowing across the hot liquid, he took a sip, and then turned to Dee.  
  
"Li Mei is upset with me," he said simply.  
  
"She likes you, Sir. Is that why she's mad at you?" Dee asked.  
  
The man couldn't help but smile and chuckle at the girl's forward manner. While she obviously respected her elders, she still had not learned when to hold her tongue. There was one thing he missed about being young like his wards, the ability to say what is on your mind without serious repercussions. He pulled the little girl into his side and hugged her.  
  
"You see more than I thought. Perhaps it is because you creep around like a little kitten who is curious about what is going on around her. You must be careful or you will be caught in your snooping. Do not worry about things like this at your age, dear one. Now you go up and go to bed. You have a long day ahead of you," he said giving her a gentle push toward the door.  
  
"Yes, Sir. G'night," she said turning to give the man a quick hug before she hurried out of the room.  
  
Jiaoshu finished his tea and returned the tray to the kitchen. He had not lied to the Elders when he said that the girl adapted easily. She was comfortable here after her first two days and followed the house schedule within the first week. Now she obviously felt safe and comfortable enough here to hug him, which was a big step. If this was any indication about how life would be with her in the house, he had a feeling he was going to be learning some lessons about life that he hadn't learned before.  
  
For now he reached into the pantry and pulled out a special bag of preserved durian fruit and headed up to Li Mei's room. Faint sobs could be heard inside. He paused, about to reconsider bringing her the treat, which she loved so much. Taking a deep breath he knocked softly on the door. Immediately the noise stopped and there was a moment of silence before the door slid open. Li Mei looked up at him, her eyes puffy from crying and her chin trembling as she tried to hold back her tears.  
  



	3. Friends

  
  
Over the next few years Dee and Manchu became good friends, helping one another with practice and their studies. On the weekends Jiaoshu and Li Mei would often take them on an outing to a museum, a park, or the zoo. The two loved this and would often run off together only to have one of their guardians called to come get them for causing trouble.  
  
Both children came out of the shells they had been living in, learning to trust one another explicitly in their practices. Jiaoshu was pleased to see that the two were well matched for sparring partners. However, he was learning that both also were well matched for mischief making. So often enough he had found his tea spiked with chili powder or some other ingredient that did not belong in it, that he had become wary enough to take a small sip before drinking. The first couple of times Dee had slipped some chili powder in, he had heard the titter of children's laughter from the other side of the door as he spat the concoction out in an uncharacteristic burst of anger. Even with the punishment he had set them to, the children had not stopped giggling over the prank.  
  
The Elders were pleased with the progress of the children, even Po Sin. He had been the one who had suggested the children be sent to China for a year for some intensive studies. Upon a vote, the decision was made and the children would be sent to China in time to join in the New Year's celebrations. That was still a month away and Dee and Manchu were excited enough that he had sentenced them to spend every free hour they had to practice in order to make them tired enough to sleep at night.  
  
He watched now as Dee battled against Manchu, each with a bo staff. Manchu was loosing to the fierceness of Dee's attack. She shortly had the boy pinned against the opposite wall of the practice room.  
  
{Enough practice for tonight, children,} he said as the two, breathing heavily from the exercise bowed to each other. {Dee, your fighting has greatly improved, as has your own, Manchu. You will both excel quickly in China.} He took the staffs from the children and put them away. "Everyone around here has a Chinese name, except for you, Dee. We must fix this. I think the title of Xiaohu would be very fitting to you."  
  
"Xiaohu?" she asked.  
  
"He is calling you 'little tiger'," Manchu said with a giggle. "If I may say so, it is very fitting for her, Jiaoshu."  
  
The man smiled. "Very well. We shall all call you Xiaohu from now on. Unless you do not like the name?"  
  
Dee's lower lip trembled a bit and she looked down at the floor. Blinking back tears, she suddenly threw her arms around Jiaoshu's middle and hugged him tightly.  
  
"Thank you for the honor, Jiaoshu."  
  
"It's only a name, silly girl," Manchu said.  
  
"But it's the first nice nickname I've ever had, Ping," she said sticking her tongue out at him.  
  
Jiaoshu laughed at the jib. {OK, children. Both of you go take your baths and get to bed. Tomorrow you both shall join Li Mei in her shopping. Proper clothing must be acquired for you before you leave for China.}  
  
Their faces lit up at the prospect of a trip out. With the long hours of practice, chores, and schoolwork, they rarely left the compound. Plus, trips out with Li Mei also meant they would be allowed special treats from the seed shops and the bakeries. Cheering the two friends raced each other up the stairs, Jiaoshu watching them go in amusement.  
  
As their voices faded, he sighed at the prospect of not seeing them for a year. He would miss them, as would everyone in the house. There were the other students, but none of them made the house feel so full of life as the pair of firecrackers that lived there.   



End file.
